2024 Michigan Folk Festival

NOTE THIS EVENT HAS ALREADY OCCURRED

Date(s): Saturday, October 12, 2024
Time: 10:00am-3:00pm
Venue: Staebler Farm Park
Jump to Event Details

The Michigan Folk School, a division of Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation, proudly presents an open invitation to the 2024 Folk Festival from 10am to 3pm on October 12th, 2024 at Staebler Farm County Park. This free event is an opportunity for the Michigan Folk School to give back to the community that supports the Folk School while simultaneously bringing more people into the fold.

This is the first Michigan Folk Festival since the pandemic and since the Folk School was acquired by Washtenaw County Parks. It presents a unique opportunity to redefine what this festival means.

The event will feature demonstrations from many of the Folk School’s talented instructors across various disciplines, including but not limited to; blacksmithing, stained glass, weaving, and wilderness survival. The event will also feature food from local vendors, music from local artists, a vendor market of instructor-made goods, a silent auction, and field games for the whole family to enjoy.

If you have been curious about what the classes the Michigan Folk School offers, what the campus bustlings look like, how we got started, and what is coming next–this is the event for you.

Activities

Classes

• Learning Kitchen, Blackbird Lodge – Three of their culinary instructors will be in the kitchen to share samples of their goods and to discuss courses offered in the cooking arts. Justin Polley will be demonstrating some kitchen skills and showing off the kitchen facility. Eric Moore will be sharing samples of sourdough bread & Gary Colles will be sharing samples of cheese.
• Classroom Murray in Blackbird Lodge – Michael Kaufman-Schofield will be hosting an interactive demonstration on burial basket weaving. Michael Daitch will be demonstrating hand-weaving skills.
• Classroom Frains in Blackbird Lodge – Jess Bowden will be demonstrating basic leather skills from the 101 courses. Julia Gold will be doing a brief stained-glass demonstration.

• East Portico at Blackbird Lodge – Ben White will be demonstrating skills from Wilderness 101 course and some basic primitive trapping. Ethan Higgins will be demonstrating timber hewing. Leo Schreiber will be demonstrating long-bow craft. Joey Traynor will be demonstrating some woodworking skills.
• Prairie Apiary at Blackbird Lodge – Eileen Dickinson will be hosting a Hiveside Chat, which is a free community class geared toward beekeeping. Eileen doubts that she will be able to open the hives due to the time of the season but is excited to answer questions and demonstrate as she is able.
• Blacksmith Studio in The Studios – Atticus Keesling and Ivan Soucy will be demonstrating some introductory skills from Blacksmithing 101 course and some blade smithing skills.

• Staebler Victory Garden outside of Farmhouse – Amanda Howell will be showing off her skills in the garden and demonstrating skills from her garlic braiding class. Mike O’Brien will be demonstrating historic beer brewing practices. ​

Live Music

The Vintage String Band will be providing the soundtrack to the event, with performances scheduled throughout the day.

Food from Local Vendors

The local favorite, Tacos El Panda will be there for the duration of the event to sell fresh and delicious foods.

Vendor Market & Silent Auction:

High-quality hand-made goods will be made available for sale at the event in both a vendor market and a silent auction. Proceeds from the Silent Auction will go to furthering the mission and vision of the Michigan Folk School.

Field Games and Children’s Area:

There will be hosting a wide variety of field games for guests of ​all ages to enjoy. Come out for a day of fun with:

• Potato and Tomato Shooting
• Corn Hole and Ring Toss
• Scavenger Hunt
• Crafts

    Find similar events by clicking on these category tags.

• Arbor Annie's Highlights
• Classes
• Elementary
• Food
• Free
• High Schoolers
• Middle Schoolers
• Outdoor
• Parents
• Preschoolers

Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be cancelled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, or we can make mistakes.